We just learned more about what it will be like to use the iPhone as a remote control for your entire home

The first home
appliances that will work with HomeKit, Apple's platform for
connecting all of the devices in your home, just went on sale
this week.

Now that people can actually buy HomeKit-certified smart light
bulbs and door locks that you can control with your iPhone, Apple
has added a
new support page with a few new details about what you can do
with HomeKit and some tips for getting started.

The details answer a few questions about HomeKit, including what
role the Apple TV will play in it. Here are a few interesting
things we learned:

You'll need an Apple TV if you want to control your
home appliances when you're not at home. Apple's
support page says you'll need a third-generation or later Apple
TV running software 7.0 or after. We've heard about this in
previous reports, but now Apple has confirmed it. As long as
you're signed into the same Apple ID account on your iPhone and
Apple TV, you'll be able to control your HomeKit
appliances using Siri remotely.

You can control a group of devices with a single Siri
command. If you want to be able to turn on all of the
HomeKit devices in a given room, you'll be able to do that with
a single Siri command. There's an option to group together
gadgets in some third party apps for certain HomeKit
accessories. It's important to remember that this option might
not be available for all HomeKit devices, though.

You won't be able to use Siri to unlock your door,
though. Although there are HomeKit-enabled door locks,
the Siri voice commands will not let you unlock your door,
according to Apple's support page.